Varun Chakaravarthy wins mind game against Australia's Tim David, dismisses him cheaply

Chakaravarthy, who had already accounted for Travis Head, started the next over with an attacking field. Tilak Varma was asked to stand at the forward short-leg, and seeing the Indian batter coming close to him, David could not control his laughter. The lanky Australian batter understood that it was pressure tactics from India captain Suryakumar Yadav. The right-handed batter decided to open his own bag of tricks.

When Chakaravarthy started his run-up to bowl the next ball, David walked away. This, naturally, did not go down well with the Indian leg-spinner. He returned the favour by not bowling the next ball. Suryakumar saw the funny side of it and so did the commentators. David got off the mark with a push to mid off the next ball, but Chakaravarthy had the last laugh when he got another crack at the hard-hitting batter.

David chipped it straight back to Chakaravarthy, who made no mistakes in gobbling up the simple catch.

Josh Hazlewood too hot for India

Josh Hazlewood’s superb new-ball spell and a blazing knock from skipper Mitchell Marsh powered Australia to a commanding four-wicket victory.

Hazlewood was sensational under lights, taking 3 for 13 in four overs and delivering 15 dot balls as India were skittled for 125 before a crowd of over 82,000. The veteran quick struck early, removing Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma in a fiery burst that left India reeling at 32 for four. Only Abhishek Sharma offered resistance, smashing a 37-ball 68 with eight fours and two sixes in a lone fightback, while Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Chasing a modest target, Australia’s openers came out blazing. Captain Marsh led the way with 46 off 26 balls, adding 51 with Travis Head to set the tone. Despite a brief wobble in the middle overs, the hosts comfortably reached 126 for 6 with 40 balls to spare, taking a 1–0 lead in the five-match series after the Canberra washout. The third T20I will be played in Hobart on Sunday.

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